Tag Archives: get past screeners

Six Ads For One Job – part two

Posted on December 2, 2009 | Leave a comment

You see 6 ads for one job you really want.  It is so good you would quit you’re your current job just to apply.  What do you do?

High Priority Jobs

Getting your resume into the hiring manager’s hands is your quest.

First gather information. 

Is there anything that makes you think the writer of one of the ads knows the hiring manager personally?

Check the date on all those ads.  When were they posted?  What day did they appear?  List when the company and each agency first advertised.  Did an agency advertise before the company itself?  They may have a close tie to the hiring manager.  Have the ads been going on for months?  The company is either getting a little desperate, has decided not to fill the job, or the job is full but recruiters haven’t bothered to pull the ads yet because they are still getting lots of calls. 

How are the ads different?   Does one include a lot more in-depth information?  Is another extremely short?  Look closely.  Do any of them make you feel like the writer talked to the manager?  You want to talk to someone who has the hiring manager’s ear.

Second work your network.

Call the people you know at the company, or invite them out to lunch.  Call up recent employees.  What can you find out about the job?  Is there someone who can personally take your resume to the hiring manager?  How about to the hiring manager’s boss?  This is still the research phase.  Don’t give anyone your resume yet.  You only get to submit it once.

Is there a recruiter you trust?  Find out what information they have.  If they can bypass HR (Human Resources) or have other great connections then work with them.  For instance, there is one company I work with that requires all recruiters to submit resumes through their online system.  But I call the HR manager and tell her when my candidates go in so she can immediately extract them.  She is afraid of missing a truly hot candidate.  Other people who submit themselves are first sorted through by the receptionist. 

You really do have to quiz recruiters about their connections.  If you answer a particular ad when there are 6 ads out there, you have a right to ask why you should send a resume in through them.

Third decide how to apply.

If the job is not exciting, it doesn’t matter how you submit your resume.  Just do some quick cosmetic changes and submit it through an agency or the HR department.

For the job that really turns you on, figure out who should submit your resume.  For any company it could be you, a friend, recruiter or acquaintance.  Choose in this order:

  1. Someone who can hand your resume to the hiring manager and personally recommend you.  It doesn’t get any better.
  2. Whoever can get your resume past HR and talk to the manager.
  3. The person that can talk to the HR manager or screener and get you past the first cut.
  4. At this point all submissions really are equal. Do it yourself, have an employee there submit you to HR or let a recruiter you trust and who gets back with you do it. 

Fourth get your resume perfect

Put the bullets on your resume in order of importance.  Put a few key words in bold to make sure the screener and manager sees them.  Get rid of bullets, lines and sentences that do not apply to the job!!  A two page resume is fine for most jobs, but the second page may never get read.

Do the 10 second test with several people.  Hand your resume to a few friends and ask them to read it for 10 seconds.  Time them.  Take it away in 10 seconds.  Ask what they remember.  Do they mention your most important qualifications and accomplishments? If they do, it’s a winner.  If not, change it.

The 10 second test is critical because most screeners and managers give all the resumes a 10 second review to try to find the best ones first.  They will probably throw out your resume without further reading if they can’t see what they want in that first 10 seconds.

Fifth submit and follow up

Submit your resume.  Call up and find out what happened two days later.  Did your resume arrive there?  Did the manager see it yet?  When will he decide? 

You really want that job? After your two day follow up call send a thank you note. Give them a nudge, short and friendly.  It is amazing how a thank you note can get someone to personally try one more time for you.

Keep calling back at least weekly.  Sometimes it does take a couple of months to fill a job.  Keep your candidacy alive until it is pronounced dead by someone who knows.

Take Your Best Shot

If you really want a job.  Go all out.  There may be 100 applicants.  In some cases there may be 1000.  Use personal contacts to set yourself apart from the herd.  Make sure your resume instantly says, “I’m qualified.”  And follow up in case you somehow get missed.

————————-

Something To Do Today

Start prioritizing all the jobs you can apply for.  On your written list make sure the jobs you crave stand out.  Treat them differently.  It is worth the extra effort.

Leave a comment

Posted in Job Boards, Networking, Perseverance, Resumes

Tagged , , , , ,

Six Ads For One Job – part one

Posted on December 1, 2009 | Leave a comment

You see 3 job board ads with almost identical wording for a job in the same suburb.  You go online and find 3 social network ads that are almost identical from 3 more different companies.  It has to be one job, not 6 different ones. What do you do?

First decide how much you want the job, then give it the time it deserves.

You have to set your priorities first.   Would you quit your job just to apply for it?   Then it will be worth a few phone calls and some research.   Is it so marginal you would NOT quit your job if it paid 5% more than you are earning today?  Treat it differently.

Low Priority Jobs

Look at all the ads.  Are any by a recruiter you know and want to work with?  Give them a quick call.  Often you can get more information from a recruiter than from the company itself.  Ask them if you have a chance at the job.  Do you want the job?  Commit the recruiter to submitting you for the job.  Then call up in two days and ask what they have heard back. 

If you can figure out who the primary employer is and don’t want to work with any recruiting agencies, just apply directly.  For low priority jobs it isn’t worth stressing out about whether an agency or a direct submission will work best.  Call the company in two days to see what happened.

High Priority Jobs

This is more involved.  We’ll talk about it tomorrow.

————————-

Something To Do Today

Look online and find a job with more than one ad. Figure out which ones are from agencies and which is from the actual hiring company.  Make this a habit.

Leave a comment

Posted in Finding jobs, Job Boards

Tagged , ,

I Am Overqualified

Posted on November 30, 2009 | Leave a comment

I Am Overqualified

Did you climb the corporate ladder and find it was leaning against the wrong wall?  Tired of 80 hour weeks or being in airports constantly?   Did you get a degree that makes it harder to get a job?  Do you want to go hunting more?  I know a lot of people who managed to get a huge responsibility (and pay) cut. 

One essential thought: Your resume has one job….to get you an interview.  It is not a confessional booth.    

If you are overqualified but want the job anyway, make a new resume.  Put in what you did that directly relates to the job.  Leave the rest out.  Get over your job wounds.  Your future boss doesn’t need to know your deepest sorrows.  You don’t have to say that you led a team of 40 people in your last job. You need to say what you did that applies.

What you think of as a job title is used by screeners and managers as a job summary.  In one or two words they see what you did.  Since that is how screeners and managers use it, so should you!  If your job title hurts you, then make an accurate title that helps. Describe what you do with your job summary (title).  When you fill out the job application right before an interview you can put your official title.  Never lie.  Don’t deceive.   Be accurate.  Use the job title as a summary. The manager reading it does.

Over-educated?  Choose from these resume options: a) no education section, b) an “Applicable Education” section, and c) put your advanced degrees under “Hobbies.”  

You can get a job you are overqualified for.   Make sure you are honest in everything you say and present to an employer.  Then blow your new boss away with how well you do your new job. 

————————-

Something To Do Today

Look at all the job titles on your resume.  Are they effective summaries of what you really did?  If not, change them.

Leave a comment

Posted in Resumes

Tagged , , ,

Tricks To Get Past The Screeners

Posted on November 25, 2009 | Leave a comment

First of all, apply for every job you are qualified for.  It is impossible to tell if the job is real.  You may as well take 5 minutes and apply.

Did you notice I did NOT say take 15 seconds and apply?  Internet job boards let you send off a resume without thinking.  You can send off a hundred in an hour.  That just assures you of 100 failures.  If you take 5 minutes and send off an effective resume for each job, you’ll do better than if you spam every employer in your area.

Most resumes are screened out electronically for large companies.  Every company then uses a clerical screener to throw out 90% of the resumes that are left with only a 10 second glance.  The remaining resumes get a 45 second read through and often only 5 out 100 original resumes are seen by anyone outside of HR.

Machines only care about one thing….a perfect match.  You have to have every requirement.  Look at the job order.  Does it have an acronym like “MS Word”?  Then have “MS Word” and “Microsoft Word” in your resume somewhere.  Does it ask for “PC experience”?  Then put the words “PC experience” somewhere.  You may want to put a “Technology Experience” section at the end of each job or the end of the resume.  You can put PowerPoint, Access, SAP A/R, Lawson GL and other cryptic requirements there.  The machine will find an exact match and you will get to the clerical screener.

The clerical screener really wants to throw out as many resumes as possible.  Every one he keeps means more work.  Look at the job listing.  What are they asking for?  Don’t bury your most important experience in a paragraph.  Screeners do not read paragraphs.  They read

  • The first 5 words in bullets and paragraphs.
  • The first 3 bullets only.
  • Job titles that are in bold type
  • Words that are in bold type. 

They may read italicized words, but not as often as bold.  Warning:  Don’t camouflage your qualifications by bolding everything YOU think is important.  Only bold the things asked for in the ad.

Make sure a screener who doesn’t want to have to read your whole resume sees you match the job.

————————-

Something To Do Today

For every job you are applying for, create a resume that will get past the screeners.  Bullet and bold everything the job ad asks for.

Leave a comment

Posted in Job Boards, Resumes

Tagged , , ,

Overqualified For A Job That Isn’t

Posted on November 23, 2009 | Leave a comment

To get a job through internet job boards you have to overcome some huge obstacles.  One problem is that you apply for a job that isn’t.  The job doesn’t exist for you.  The job was posted because Human Resources (HR) said they had to post it.  They have an internal candidate.  You haven’t got a prayer, but you don’t know it.

The job isn’t?  You’ll never know.  Your only chance is to get someone to personally submit you to the hiring manager.  Then he may actually consider you for a job he has decided to fill internally.  You’ll have a chance. 

Before you apply for any job ask yourself, “Do I know anyone who works there?” Then ask, “Do I know anyone who knows someone who works there?”  The best way to past all the screeners is to have someone personally drop your resume on the manager’s desk.

If you are really a fit for the job your friend, acquaintance or contact will be very happy to hand in your resume.  They get brownie points and sometimes bonuses for it.

How about recruiters that didn’t place the ad?  If they really know the hiring manager and can get you past HR, use them.  But be careful.  Ask them who they will be submitting you to.  Follow up with them.  Make sure they really submit you.  A well connected recruiter can make all the difference in the world.  A recruiter who knows nothing about the company can actually hurt you.  I’m a recruiter.  I’ve seen it work both ways.  Ask your recruiter what they will do in addition to submitting you to HR.

So the first thing to do is to figure out who can help you bypass HR and all the screeners.  Then ask them for their help.

————————-

Something To Do Today

When you decide to apply for a job, make a list of the people you know who already work there and a list of people who know someone who works there.  Ask for their help.

Leave a comment

Posted in Job Boards, Networking

Tagged , , ,

Use and Abuse of Job Boards

Posted on November 21, 2009 | Leave a comment

You can effectively use internet job boards. You can get hired. First though, you have to understand the weaknesses of job boards. Then you can use these 4 weaknesses to your advantage.

Let’s say you have a choice between hiring someone you worked with for 3 years or a stranger. The person you know is a proven top performer. The person you never met before says he is a top performer. Who do you hire?

That’s the first problem with internet job boards. Many companies post jobs that they fill from their existing employees. They have a policy to leave the door open for a superstar, so they put the job on the internet. What happens when the superstar walks in? Usually they say she is overqualified and show her the door.

Next problem: Most job ads come from employment agencies. I have seen the same computer programmer job advertised by 10 agencies AND the company that wants to hire. How many people will submit resumes for that job? There will be at least 3 qualified people submitted by each agency, that’s 30. Then there will be 100 people submitting themselves to the company and 5 of those will be qualified. That’s a lot of competition.

Third problem: Did you notice that 100 people will apply directly for the job and 5 will be qualified? If the screener doesn’t see exactly what he is looking for on your resume, you won’t get in for an interview. Usually the screener doesn’t really know what you do. He is looking for keywords and phrases. You have to get past the screener.

Last problem: Most jobs are NOT advertised on job boards. But you can use the job boards to find them.

That’s four problems. Think about overcoming them. How can you turn each weakness into a strength for you? How can you turn the tables? You can. I’ll tell you how over the coming week.

————————-
Something To Do Today

80% of jobs are NOT advertised.  Tuesday I am giving a free webinar on how to find them.

Sign up here: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/912755408

Go to www.monster.com and check out jobs like yours.  How many ads from different agencies can you find for one job? What is your competition like if you apply for it?

Leave a comment

Posted in Job Boards

Tagged , ,

I Dare You To Use This Test

Posted on November 19, 2009 | Leave a comment

This test applies to resumes and often to job reviews.  The principles are the same.

Right now about 5 resumes out of every 100 make it to the hiring manager.  The average resume screener is NOT an expert in what you do.  If you are lucky he will know half of the technical terms on your resume.  The screener will decide in 10 seconds whether or not your resume comes close to being acceptable.  After this speed test, the screener will give your resume a 45 second read through.  If you pass that test you will finally get in the pile that the hiring manager gets to see.    Your resume has to get past the screener or you will not get hired.

How do you test your resume?   Find a screener of your own.

Ask a friend to look over your resume for 10 seconds.  Time them.   Snatch your resume out of their hands.  Take it away and ask them what they read.  What they tell you determines whether or not you would make the first screen test.  If you pass that test, give it back to them for 45 seconds.  Again, snatch it away and grill them about what they read.

If your resume passes this test with three different people, you have a resume that may work.  If your screener can say what you accomplished, that’s outstanding.  If he says what your duties were, that’s good.  If you are going for a programming job and he says you worked with VB.Net and ADO.Net, and by the way, what are they?  You did well.

Every time you submit a resume, look at the ad you are responding to.  Will your screener pick out the key phrases in the ad…..from your resume?  Test it.  Find out. 

That’s how you get more interviews.

And think about those long, boring job reviews.  Don’t you think the same test, altered depending on your circumstances, could be of help?  Test what your manager’s boss will really read.

————————-

Something To Do Today

Find 3 friends, acquaintances or enemies and test your resume.  If you are having trouble, go to www.agicc.com/resumeideas.htm again.  See what you can change.

Leave a comment

Posted in Resumes

Tagged , , , ,

How To Use That Lever

Posted on November 18, 2009 | Leave a comment

Do you have a 3 ½ inch attention span? 

Or is yours 2 ½ inches long?

To get your victories noticed, you have to learn the art of placement.  You need to put power words and numbers in the first 2 ½ or 3 ½ inches of each paragraph and bullet in your resume and job performance review.  If you don’t, that bullet and that paragraph will not be read. 

More than 80% of resumes are tossed in the trash after a 10 second review.  More than half of the rest are tossed out after a second review of 45 seconds.  The reason is that 100 resumes may come in for a particular job.  Reviewing each resume for one minute would take over 1 ½ hours.  Instead a screener takes 15 minutes to reduce that pile to 10 or 20 resumes by trying to quickly reject the obviously unfit ones.  Since his boss doesn’t want to read even that many resumes, a 45 second review of the remaining resumes will reduce the pile to at most 5 resumes.  Then the boss takes those 5 resumes AND DOES THE SAME THING!!!!   He shuffles through the pile doing first a ten second review and then a 45 second review, hoping he only has to read one or maybe two in depth.

Can you survive that process? 

What gets your resume past all the reviews is having boss stopping information where it gets read.  That means you have to have your greatest accomplishments in bullets.  Your finest deeds must be at the top of the list of bullets.  It also means you put your list of duties, if you really really feel you need to have them, in a single paragraph so they are easy to ignore until the boss decides he will slog through the whole resume.

At the bottom of www.agicc.com/resumeideas.htm are links to some very good resumes.  They are actual resumes we got permission to put on our site. They are resumes that got people jobs fast.    

Your job review needs to go through the same editing process.  Let’s face it, your boss finds your job review even more boring than you do.  His boss will barely glance at it.  You have to learn to put critical information in the first 2 ½ inches of bullets.  It will earn you a lot of money.

————————-

Something To Do Today

Rewrite your list of accomplishments.  Make it into bullets.  Put the boss stopping words and numbers in the first 2 ½ inches.  Write two or three bullets for each accomplishment.  Word them different ways.  If you have the time, create a new resume or job review.  Don’t throw away your practice bullets yet.  They will come in handy tomorrow.

Leave a comment

Posted in Resumes

Tagged ,